Only For a Night
by Casteline
Summary: They've tried to kill Klaus a hundred times and failed, but it only takes one success. But there are consequences. Jyler, Delena.


_Takes place after The Murder of One, but before Heart of Darkness. Mainly Damon/Elena and Jeremy/Tyler, with mentions of Tyler/Caroline and Matt/Rebekah._

* * *

**Only for a Night**

_(Klaus loved to host parties. At least once a month, an invite would arrive on the doorstep of the more prominent families of Mystic Falls, inviting them to attend a gathering at the Mikaelson residence. Most people didn't seem to think much of it, but Elena Gilbert and her friends knew that there was a reason behind everything that Klaus did.)_

"Blue or purple?" Elena asked, holding the two dresses up.

Bonnie and Caroline looked up from what they were doing.

"Blue," they said together.

"It'll match Damon's eyes," Caroline laughed, knocking her nailpolish over. The yellow liquid quickly spread over the sheets. "Whoops. Sorry."

_(They wondered what reason Klaus might have for this party. Did he want something specific, like Elena's blood, or did he just want to remind them all how easy it was for him to get the most important people gathered in one place, like lambs to the slaughter? Was he daring them to try something?)_

"You ready?" Damon asked when he arrived on her doorstep.

"Are you?" she asked, slipping a white oak stake into her purse.

_(Of course they would go in prepared to take out any Original, if it came down to it.)_

"Well, don't you too look dashing tonight," Klaus greeted when Elena and Damon appeared on the Mikaelson doorstep.

"Hello, Klaus," Damon said with a broad, but clearly fake smile.

"Please, _come in_. Enjoy yourselves," Klaus replied in a tone that bordered on mocking.

Elena shuddered as they entered.

"I'm so sick of this whole pretending-to-be-friends thing," she said. They were all sick of it.

_(The party, as always, was made of the most important families. How many of them knew what Klaus and his family really were? How many knew that Vampires and Werewolves walked among them? Even the Founder's Council, who knew more than most of the town, didn't know what kind of danger they were in.)_

"Why were you talking to Wolf-Boy?" Damon asked.

"We were just talking," Caroline said defensively.

"Did you tell him anything?" Bonnie asked.

"Guys, calm down," she said. "We're not even dating anymore. It's not like he's ever around anyway."

Damon narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

Caroline shrugged. "He's been missing class a lot lately."

"Hmm, suspicious. I wonder what he's been doing for Klaus."

Elena stomped down on Damon's foot.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"Just let it go," Elena said. It was bad enough that Tyler would die if they ever got the chance to kill Klaus. It's not like they were ever best friends, or even friends really. He had always been kind of a dick. But he was Matt's best friend, and Caroline loved him. And it wasn't fair. He didn't choose to be a werewolf, or a hybrid, he didn't choose to be sired to Klaus. It wasn't fair that he would die because of things he had no control over.

_(The party begins with a speech from Klaus. His audience listens intently to his words, though they have no real meaning, and they've all been said before.)_

"Are you okay?" Elena hissed at Tyler, seeing his eyes turn gold, and the blood vessels around them flare up. Hunger. Rage. Did he smell blood? She quickly looked to Stefan and Damon, neither of whom seemed to notice anything.

"I'm fine," Tyler said, closing his eyes and shaking off the feelings.

"You sure?" she asked. He didn't look particularly okay, and she was a little worried.

"Yeah," he assured her with a nod.

_(Social was something Elena had once been excellent at. She once lived for these parties. Now she felt like she was constantly looking over her shoulder, waiting for the other shoe to drop.)_

"What do you mean, _you can't find it_?" Damon asked in a hushed tone.

"It's not here," Elena hissed, digging through her purse.

"Did you leave it at home?" he asked. They _could not_ lose a White Oak stake.

"No! I know I put it in here. Ask Caroline or Bonnie. It was _right here_."

"Let me see," he said, snatching her bag, as if she had somehow missed it. The bag was so small, it was unlikely that any more than the stake itself could have fit. "_Where the hell is it_?"

_(He could feel his heart racing. He had to slow down. He needed to calm himself, or someone would hear him, and this would all end very badly. He needed to be calm.)_

"Do you have a weird feeling?" Elena asked, looking around at the party. Something was wrong.

Damon shrugged. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know," she said as Caroline and Matt joined them. "I've just got a really bad feeling." There was something wrong. She was missing something. She spun around a few times, slowly enough to get a good look at the crowds, but fast enough to make herself a little dizzy. "Where's Tyler?"

Caroline shrugged. "I told you, we aren't dating anymore," she said. "It's not like I keep tabs on him or something."

"He's probably found himself a few drinking buddies."

"No," Elena said, shaking her head. "No, I've got a bad-"

She stopped talking when Damon squeezed her hand. She looked up, followed his line of sight.

"Found him," he whispered.

_(Klaus was standing in the middle of the crowd, surrounded by several of the Founder's Council. Tyler was approaching behind him, nothing but determination written across his face.)_

"What is he-" Elena started, as Caroline and Matt turned. "Oh my god," she breathed. All at once, the four of them realized what was happening.

"Tyler, _no,_" Caroline screamed before she could stop herself. Damon clamped his hand over her mouth to stop any further outburst. She struggled against him, but he was much stronger.

_(It didn't matter though, because Tyler was fast. Maybe not as fast as Klaus, but he had surprise on his side. Klaus had never thought Tyler, his pet Hybrid, would be the one to plunge a White Oak stake through his heart.)_

Damon and Caroline were already at his side, while Elena and Matt tried to force their way through the crowd of people. No one seemed to be aware of what had just happened, save those in the immediate vicinity of Klaus.

"Get everyone out of here," Carol Lockwood ordered.

Liz Forbes didn't need telling twice, but the other Founders weren't so accepting.

"He's a vampire?" one of them said in shock, never having seen one before.

"You heard the Mayor," Damon said. "Get everyone out of here." No one move. "_Now_." That finally seemed to light a fire under them.

_(Elena and Matt arrived at the scene just as people started to realize that something had happened, though no one was really sure what. Stefan and Bonnie appeared a moment later. Damon and Stefan moved the body of Klaus into the nearest room with impossible speed.)_

The body was still burning when Sheriff Forbes, Mayor Lockwood, and Alaric entered the room a few minutes later. Damon, Stefan, Bonnie, Matt, Caroline and Tyler were gathered around, waiting for someone to say something.

"Everyone is gone," Alaric said.

"We've told them that he suddenly became very ill," Sheriff Forbes added.

"You're going to die," Caroline suddenly cried out. She'd been holding it in too long, she couldn't keep quiet any more.

"I know," Tyler said.

"_What?_" Carol asked.

"If an Original dies, his entire bloodline dies," Alaric explained.

"You knew?" Elena asked.

"I heard you guys talking about it," Tyler said.

"And you still killed him," Damon said. "You're a better person than I thought."

Tyler sent him a rude gesture, which went largely unnoticed as he began coughing.

"What's wrong?" Carol asked, utterly terrified. "What's happening?"

"It's starting," Damon said, frowning.

"What?" Caroline cried. "No! No, it was _hours_ before Sage died?"

Stefan shook his head. "He's a Hybrid. We have no idea how that changes things."

"Mom, you shouldn't be here for this," Tyler said, trying to hide the blood he was now coughing up.

"NO!" she exclaimed. "No, absolutely not."

"Carol, maybe he's right," Liz said, placing a hand on her arm.

"No," Carol said, wrenching her arm away and falling to her knees next to the cough he was lying on. Dying on. "He's _my son_."

"We'll leave you alone," Alaric said, nodding the others in the direction of the door.

"How did you do it?" Elena asked, when everyone else was gone.

"Super speed," he said plainly. "Picking it out of your purse was easy."

"Not that," she said, shaking her head. "How did you break the Sire Bond?"

"Jeremy," he said, in between coughs. "Klaus almost killed him. Because I didn't have any control. It was my fault, and I couldn't let it happen again."

It took Elena a moment to process his statement before she too let the room, leaving the Lockwoods to themselves.

_(No one was quite sure what to do. There was nothing they could do to stop Tyler's inevitable death, but not doing anything felt wrong. So they waited. They tossed ideas back and forth, trying to think of something, some way that could save him.)_

"This isn't fair," Caroline said, unshed tears still threatening to fall. "It isn't fair."

"It's never fair," Elena said. Everything that had happened to them in the last couple of years had been horribly unfair. Why would their luck change now?

"He's still alive," Stefan said. "Sage died almost immediately after she started coughing."

"Its been at least fifteen minutes," Damon nodded. "And his coughing has died down."

"Does that mean he's okay?" Liz asked.

"I wouldn't bet on it," Alaric said, as Damon opened the door into the room.

"How do you feel?" he asked the Hybrid.

"What?" Tyler asked.

"_How do you feel?_" Damon asked again. "You should be dead right now, but you're not. How do you feel?"

Tyler coughed. "Tired," he said. "Weak. But not dead."

"What does this mean?" Carol asked. "That he's okay?"

"Doubtful," Damon said, looking over Tyler, as if he might find something helpful just by looking at him.

_(It's only moment before Damon, Caroline and Stefan hear the front door open, and a familiar voice echo through the house.)_

"Matt," Damon hissed. "Go take care of your crazy bitch girlfriend."

"She's not my-" he started.

"Don't care. Just keep her out of here. Tell her whatever lie you have to, but she cannot find out about this."

Matt rolled his eyes and left the room.

"Matt," she greeted. "I leave for half an hour, and the party dies without me? What happened to everyone?"

_(Tyler wasn't dying. Or, rather, he wasn't dead yet. That had quietly snuck out of the Mikaelson house. Matt, Bonnie and the Forbes, after much argument, went home, while Damon, Stefan, Elena, and Alaric accompanied Carol and Tyler home. Bonnie had promised to look in her books for any explanation as to what had happened, but she knew it would likely be fruitless.)_

"How do you feel?" Elena asked for the hundredth time, as Damon and Stefan helped him into his bed.

"Tired," he answered again.

"What is that sound?" Damon asked, clearly annoyed by it.

"Probably my phone," Tyler asked, his eyelids falling closed. "I think I left it on the coffee table before the dance."

"I'll get it," Elena said, walking out of the room.

_(She walked down the stairs and past the kitchen, where Alaric and Carol sat talking. She tried to give a comforting smile, but she knew how fake it must have looked. She grabbed Tyler's phone, which had since stopped ringing, and headed back. Before she even reached the stairs, it started to ring again. Hearing the sound it made, she understood why Damon had been so annoyed. Absently, she answered.)_

"Ty, finally," the voice on the other end said, clearly relieved. "I've been trying to call you for hours."

"_Jeremy_?" Elena asked.

"Elena?" Jeremy asked. There was a pause. "Why do you have Tyler's phone?"

"Um," Elena started, but never actually said anything. She was too busy piecing together the puzzle.

"Elena," he repeated. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

_(Elena knew Jeremy, probably better than anyone. She knew his voice, knew the way he sounded when his emotions were getting the better of him, and right then, she knew he was freaking out a little bit.)_

"Oh my god," she breathed when the pieces finally fell together. "Jeremy."

"_Elena, what is going on_?"

"Pack a bag," she said. "Get on the next flight here."

"_Elena_."

"We're okay. _He's_ okay, for now."

"_For now_," he repeated. "What does that mean, _for now?_"

"He's sick," she finally said. "Probably dying. The faster you get here, the better."

_(Elena knew that it was not a fast flight from Colorado to Virginia, and that there was a good chance Tyler would be dead by the time he got there. She didn't say it though; she didn't want to steal the tiny glimmer of hope, no matter how small.)_

"_Finally_," Damon said. "That is possibly the most annoying sound ever."

Elena's face was blank.

"Are you okay?" he asked, stepping closer to her.

"I'm fine," she said, shaking her head. "Um… I think Alaric wanted you guys downstairs. I'll keep Tyler company."

The two Vampires nodded and left the room.

"You don't have to stay," Tyler said, his voice shaking slightly, as Elena sat down in the chair nearest his bed. "It's not like we're really friends."

"Of course we are," Elena said.

"Stop," he said. He tried to keep his eyes open, but failing miserably. "You don't have to do the whole pity thing, just because I'm dying."

"It's not pity," she assured him. "I do care about you. I don't want you to die."

"If you say so," he said, coughing.

_(For a few moments, there was silence. Elena didn't know what to say. Tyler was right, they had never really been friends.)_

"Jeremy called," she finally said. "I told him you were sick. He's on his way."

"You shouldn't have done that," he said.

"You two have gotten pretty close, haven't you?" she asked, ignoring him. "Closer than I realized."

Tyler's eyes flew open, though it took all of his effort to keep them open. "You know? Did he tell you?"

Elena smiled. "No. I figured it out while I was talking to him. That's why you've been gone so much lately, isn't it? You haven't been working for Klaus, you've been in Colorado."

Tyler nodded and relaxed slightly.

"You're not mad?" he asked.

"Upset that he didn't tell me," she said. "But not mad, no."

"Can't get mad at a dying man, can you?"

"You'll be okay," she said, trying to sound reassuring, when really she was terrified.

"No, I won't," he said. He was shaking visibly now, his teeth chattering.

"I'll see if I can find you another blanket," she offered. She disappeared for a few minutes, and returned with a heavy comforter.

"Thanks," he said shakily as she laid it over him.

"You shouldn't have told him to come," Tyler said a few minutes later. He was still shaking, but not quite as badly now. "He shouldn't have to see me like this."

"He deserves to see you."

"One last kiss before I die, I suppose."

"Tyler-" she started.

"You're right," he said. "I'll probably be dead before he gets here."

"Please stop," she said. "Stop acting like you've just given up. Please, just keep fighting."

"I should've been dead an hour ago," he said, shaking so badly that he could only get a word or two out at a time. "I'm fighting as hard as I can."

_(They were both certain that he was going to be dead by the time Jeremy arrived, but by some miracle, he was still alive by morning. When Jeremy knocked on the Lockwood's front door, he was terrified that someone would answer and tell him he was too late, that Tyler was dead.)_

It was Stefan who opened the door and let Jeremy in. "He's upstairs," he said quietly. It was still early, and Damon, Elena, and Alaric were asleep in the living room.

Jeremy practically ran up the stairs and into Tyler's room. Tyler appeared to be sleeping, while Mrs. Lockwood sat in the chair next to him, never taking her eyes off him.

Tyler's eyes opened moments after Jeremy appeared in the door way. Mrs. Lockwood turned and smiled softly. Jeremy tried to smile back, but he was too scared.

"I'll leave you two alone," she said, laying her hand on his shoulder as she left.

"Hey, Jere," Tyler said weakly.

Jeremy swore he opened his mouth to say hi, but what came out was more of a sob.

"Come 'ere," Tyler said, reaching for him with a shaky hand.

Jeremy took his hand as he sat down in the chair. For a moment, he forgot how to breathe.

"You're burning up," he said.

"I feel like ice," Tyler countered.

Jeremy got up and crawled into the bed behind him, desperate to warm him up.

"Mmm." Tyler smiled as he relaxed into Jeremy's larger frame. "Much warmer."

Jeremy planted a soft kiss on Tyler' neck, then lips. "Isn't this the part in the fairy tale," he said. "Where the dashing knight kisses than handsome prince, and the prince is suddenly all better, because true love can overcome anything?"

"You're reading the wrong fairy tales," Tyler said tiredly. "The real ones are much darker and have fewer happy endings."

"I happen to like happy endings," Jeremy said, biting his lip.

"I don't. Too many unrealistic expectations about life. They tell you you'll grow up sad and you'll fall in love and get married. The skip the ones where you die young and never get the chance to show the boy just how much you love him."

"You're not gonna die," Jeremy said, holding on to him tighter. "We'll figure something out."

"It's a miracle I'm even still alive, Jere. I doubt I'll be able to hold on much longer. I think I was just holding on so I could see you, one last time."

"No," Jeremy said, shaking his head. "You're just sick. It'll pass soon enough."

_(He knew it was a lie. They both knew.)_

"Summer's almost here," Jeremy said. "You'll get better just in time to go to the beach. Just you and me, lying in the sun."

"Everyone else can come, too," Tyler said. "We'll have a cookout, or something."

Jeremy smiled, willing his tears not to fall. "Damon and I can do all the cooking," he said. "Elena will probably try to help and she'll probably burn something down in the process."

Tyler let out a choked laugh. He had witnessed a few of Elena's cooking attempts.

"It'll be nice," Jeremy said. "Just us. No worries about Vampires or Werewolves or the Originals. Just us and the big blue."

"No worries," Tyler agreed.

"And you'll be going to college soon," Jeremy said. "That'll be new and exciting. You can get away from all this insanity. Finally be normal for a change."

"Don't know if I'll ever be normal," he coughed.

"You know where you're going yet?" Jeremy asked.

Tyler shrugged. "Somewhere close he said sleepily. Can't bear to be too far from you."

"Once I graduate," Jeremy said. "We can get away from here for real. We'll run away and never look back."

"Never look back," Tyler repeated.

_(They both knew it was a lie, as they planned out a future that would never happen.)_

* * *

_When I started this, I planned for it to be a lot shorter, and have a happy ending. Whoops._

_Let me know what you think._


End file.
